Quote:
While it doesn't play only to the novice to the point of boring the more experienced, it doesn't exclude them either.
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I think that's the part that I found the most unusual...
He managed to provide basic care information for the novice AND moderate to slightly advanced information for people who've been kicking around a bit longer...
It's the way he did it that makes it valuable though. The basic information is written in a free flowing, antecdotal style that kept me reading even though I already knew what was being explained (rather than just thumbing forward to the next chapter) and then the slightly more advanced information was built up to gradually, progressively and the explainations were such that I firmly believe that someone who had never kept a GTP before in their life could read and understand. Practical application is a bit different of course but understanding what needs to be done is the first step towards doing it.
What I'm getting to in the end I suppose is... This is a book I personally would feel happy reccomending to just about anyone who was looking for an informational source and a book that I wouldn't have to add disclaimers to... Most of the readily avaliable titles I end up giving them a list of the things they should ignore; "This is one of the best books you can get on the subject but it's a bit outdated and you should ignore the section in chapter three that discusses lighting." or "It's a pretty good book but I disagree slightly with the diet." or "Holy crap, that's by Kaplan... you stay here while I get my matches."
About the only part that *anyone* could find something to disagree with in would be the Locality debate chapter but it's written in a very even handed manner and presents a well rounded overview of the entire situation rather than functioning as an editorial for one camp or the other.